Fate
by Dramionefatemakers
Summary: Draco and Hermione start their first year at Hogwarts. They are complete opposites, yet they seem to be drawn to each other.
1. Chapter 1

**This Fanfic is going to be written by 2 people we will alternate chapter. This is the very first fanfic either of us has ever written so please feel free to give advice and comments.**

The sun shone brightly down perfectly on the book Hermione was reading. _This is strange_, Hermione thought as she moved around the apple tree she was leaning against to see if she could change the light but no matter which way she faced, the lighting on her book remained perfect, but Hermione did not think much of this perfectly lit book because she was again lost in the excitement of her book.

"Hermione, would you come here please? You have a visitor."

"Coming mum," with that Hermione shut her book tightly and ran towards her house. Breathing heavily as she arrived at the front entry she looked at her reflection in the window and brushed her way to frizzy brown hair out of her eye but it immediately went back to where it was, the mane of brown hair seemed to have a mind of its own, but that really never bothered Hermione. She walk through the back door of her house making her way through the hall to the living area where she saw her mother setting down a tea pot, some tea cups and a basket of her favorite cookies.

"Hello," a women with jet black hair said " my name is Victoria Winderwell and I work for the Ministry of Magic. I would like to talk to you and your family about important information that will affect your future."

"The Ministry of what?! What would this information be?" asked Hermione as she reached down and took a bite out of a cookie.

"Let me show you," Victoria replied cryptically. She took a long smooth stick out of her pocket, roughly 11 inches long. "Excuse me, what are you doing?" Hermione said strictly as the wooden stick was pointed at her book. "I would just like to show you something," Victoria replied, "would you please just place your book on the table?"

Hermione was shaking as she put her book on the table. She did not want to put this book on the table it was her favorite book she did not want anything to happen to it. When the book was on the table Hermione heard a voice say " incarcerous". Hermione screeched as she looked down at her book and it was tied up in ropes and with that Hermione picked up her book and started tugging at the ropes but they would not give. " What did you do?! You locked up my book and now I can't get it open. This is awful!" Hermione screamed, "fix it! Fix it now!"

"If you would please just put your book on the table, I can fix it."

Hermione threw her book on the table with such force it slid right off the table. Victoria pointed her stick at the book again, but this time, she did not say anything and a long stream of what looked fire came out of the end of the stick she held in her hand . As the stream of fire hit the book the ropes disintegrated into nothingness. Hermione ran to her book and picked it up, brushing off the cover to make sure everything was the way it was before. She flipped quickly through the pages as she excitedly asked, "what are you?". She put her book back on her book shelf full of tons of different kind of books.

"I am a witch, just like you, and I am here to offer you a spot in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have already talked to your parents and I will give you your Hogwarts letter and instructions on where you can your school supplies."

Hermione was startled. She was processing what this lady had just said. _Was it true?_ she thought. She decided that what she just saw and heard must be true! "Okay, I guess what you have said is true, may I see my letter?"

"Alright," Victoria said, "have a great year at Hogwarts."

Hermione took the piece of parchment that Victoria had given her but waited for the door to close behind her.

" Well, aren't you going to open it?" asked her father.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice"

Hermione's hands were steady as she opened the letter. Both her parents stood behind her and read the letter over her shoulders.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
Yours sincerely,

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress**

Hermione read through this letter 4 or 5 times before her parents finished reading, and when they were done she flipped to the next piece of parchment.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,  
** Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus**

**Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions**

"Where on earth are we suppose to get all this stuff?" Hermione asked.

"Victoria gave us instructions on how to get to Diagon Alley and exchange our money for wizard money. There is a giant book store and your mother and I asked if there would be a library at the school. There is a library bigger than you can imagine with all types of books, but she did mention that if you wanted to bring any muggle books that you would have to bring them yourself."

"Muggle?" Hermione asked. She had never heard this word before.

"A non-magical person. Your dad and I are muggles, but you are a witch! A muggle born witch."

"We shall leave tomorrow afternoon for Diagon Alley."

Hermione ran up stairs to decide what books she wanted to bring. She put all her books, several hundred of them, in to piles of books she really wanted to take, to books she did not care if she took. As Hermione sat on the ground looking at her pile of books, she decided to just take one book, her favorite book that Victoria wrapped in unbreakable ropes. It was called My Book House: The Complete Series- books 1-12. Hermione walked down the stairs carrying the book tightly against her chest and walked out the front door. She walked towards the apple tree, but after she sat down, she decided that she should go say goodbye to her best friend as she would not be able to see her for another year. Hermione would miss her greatly. She quickly hid her book in the tree, where only she would know where it was.

Hermione ran over to her friend's house and rang the doorbell, and moments later her best friend answered the door.

"Hey Mione! What's up?"

"I just got accepted to a new school." Hermione paused deciding she should probably not tell Mia that she was a witch as she would probably not believe it was all true. "It's a boarding school and I won't be able to see you for a whole year!"

"Will you still be able to keep in touch?"

"I could probably send letters to you! I know your address, and I will send you letters every week, but I don't know how soon you will get them."

Mia smiled and took Hermione by the wrist and pulled her into the living room and pushed her to force her to fall and sit on the chair. Mia sat on the other chair. They talked for hours before Hermione realized the time and got up to leave, very sad that she could not bring her friend with her.

It was getting dark out so, Hermione ran back home after saying her final goodbyes. She ran as fast as she could to the apple tree in the yard. She grabbed her book then ran to her house. She walked through the front door and headed up the stairs. She said goodnight to her parents as she headed for bed. She brushed her teeth and got into her PJs. She would usually read before she went to sleep, but she was too excited to focus on her book. She jumped into bed and she fell asleep right away.

In the morning, Hermione's mother made waffles and they sat at the table and made their plans for the day.

"Your father and I decided that you can go get fitted for your robes while we go get money from the wizarding bank, then we will go to the book store and buy your school books for the year. Then, we will go buy your wand and then we will buy the other things you need for school this year."

" Okay! Sounds great," Hermione ate up her waffles and was very excited for the coming year.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
Yours sincerely,

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress**

Draco flipped the page and continued reading.

"Mother?"

"Yes Draco?"

"I don't really want to come shopping, I was wondering if I could just stay home?"

"Well, we need you to go get fitted for your robes, but I don't see why we can't get someone else to buy all your other stuff."

"Alright mother, can we leave now?" Draco asked but his voice implied that it was a demand.

"Sure honey."

Draco ran up stairs to his room and got dressed into nicer clothes that were more suitable for going out. He did his hair and straightened out his coat in the mirror.

When Draco arrived at Diagon Alley, he and his mother strode into Madam Malkin's. The lady by the door welcomed them into the store. "Are you one of the Hogwarts lot? If you are, I can give you everything you need and you get a Hogwarts discount on everything you buy in this shop."

"Yes, he is a Hogwarts student and I would very much appreciate it if we just got this fitting done and over with fast," snapped Narcissa, and Draco gave a smug look at lady who was helping them.

"Of course. Please stand on this platform, and I will take your measurements."

Draco stomped up onto the platform and groaned as if he did not want to be doing this. As Draco was getting his fitting done he heard as soft voice, a girl's voice, and it sounded like she was going to Hogwarts as well. "This is so exciting! I can't wait until this term starts!" the voice said.

A little later, Draco's fitting was finished, and he walked out of the shop and headed for Ollivander's wand shop. When he arrived, he saw a young girl with a mane of frizzy brown hair leaving the shop with a wand box. She was smiling brilliantly, she had a very pretty smile. Draco entered the shop and was given a wand almost immediately after entering the shop.

"10 and a half inch, vine wood, with a unicorn tail hair core, quite springy. Well, give it a flick!" the man excitedly instructed him.

Draco flicked the wand and he felt a power surge inside of him like he had just been electrocuted, but he felt no pain.

"No, no, no, that's not it, that's all wrong," said the man, grabbing a different wand to give to Draco. "Try this one, 10 inches, Hawthorn, unicorn hair core, reasonably pliant, give it a try!" As soon as Draco touched the wand, he felt like ice enveloped his hand, and the feeling went up his arm, and as he flicked the wand, the iciness became a warmth and it felt like the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.

"Well, that looks like the one!" the strange old man said as he put the wand in the box and turned to Draco's mother. After the wand was paid for, Draco and his mother left the store. As they walked out of the store they ran into that girl that Draco had seen earlier. She stood up and said, " oh I'm so sorry! Um, I'm Hermione Granger I'm new to all of this and I'm so sorry!" Before Draco could reply, he heard his mother say, "filthy mudblood, you get away from me." She pulled Draco away, and they left Diagon Alley immediately.

Hermione brushed herself off, slightly confused, as she could not see what she had done wrong, but she just shrugged it off.

That night, Hermione could not sleep. She could only think about that boy who ran into her, and what a mudblood was. She did not know why it was such a bad thing, so she decided that in the morning she would go through her books and try to gather some information. Hermione fell asleep thinking about the cool new books she got.

Draco tossed and turned that night. He could not stop thinking of that girl he kept seeing that day, and he wished that his mother had not reacted like that. Even though she was a muggleborn, Draco still hoped that the girl would be sorted into his house so they could be friends. Draco fell asleep after many hours of thinking of this girl named Hermione.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! We hope you enjoyed the first chapter! We will try to update every Sunday so stay tuned!

Chapter 2

Draco arrived at King's Cross at precisely 8:15. He wanted to get there early so nobody would see him saying goodbye to his parents. He passed through the barrier and the first thing he saw was the majestic Hogwarts train. He was very impressed, but did not show it. His father had trained him to never show emotion, because showing emotion was a sign of weakness. Lucius was very strict, but Narcissa was very caring. She only acted like her husband to keep up the Malfoy image. In private, they were both very good parents to Draco, and cared greatly about him.

Draco hugged his parents and kissed his mother goodbye, then slowly boarded the train. His parents levitated his luggage into the train and into a compartment. There weren't any students on the train yet, so Draco chose a compartment with a window facing the station. He smiled at his parents and waved at them one last time before they turned and disapparated out of the station.

Hermione had spent the last couple of days poring over her new favorite book, Hogwarts: A History. She read all about the train and many of the secrets of the school. She was more excited than ever! However, she had found out what mudblood meant and it dampened her mood for a while, but the excitement of going to Hogwarts has shone through. All her stuff had been carefully packed the night before, and she was all ready to go. That morning, she woke up at 6 and bustled around restlessly until it was time to go. Her parents loaded their car and drove towards the station.

Hermione arrived at King's Cross at 8:40. She looked at her ticket, making sure that it wasn't a dream and that she was actually heading off to platform 9 3/4. She confidently strode towards the barrier and stepped smoothly onto the platform. Many students had already arrived and the sound of excited chatter filled the train. Hermione tearfully kissed her parents goodbye, with promises to write every chance she had. She carried her luggage onto the train and stowed it away, then she changed into her robes. Checking that she had everything on right, she walked down the aisle to find a compartment.

As she walked through the train, she spotted the boy she had run into at Diagon Alley. His compartment was already full. There was a girl with black hair hanging off his shoulder, a tall, stringy boy, and two other boys who both looked very large and intimidating. He saw Hermione and nodded at her, but she gave him a frosty look. She had not forgiven his mother for calling her a mudblood. She continued walking through the train.

Hermione stopped at a compartment where a boy was looking under the seats. She stuck her head in and asked: "what are you doing?"

The boy looked up and sadly said, "I've lost my toad."

Hermione grinned and entered the compartment. "Don't worry! I'll help you look! My name is Hermione Granger, what's yours?"

"I-I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom. My toad.. my toad's name is Trevor."

And with that, Hermione set off along the compartments, looking for a toad.

She stopped at a compartment where two boys where stuffing their faces with candy. One boy, with bright red hair took out his wand and cleared his throat. Curiously, she stuck her head in. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see!" she exclaimed excitedly. The boy looked nervous and chanted out a spell. It sent out some sparks, but nothing happened to the rat he was directing it at.

"Well, it's not a very good spell, is it? I've read all about magic. Here, let me fix those glasses! _Oculus reparo_!" The boy with black hair cringed as he felt the magic on his glasses. Surprisingly, his glasses were fixed! As he took them off to inspect them, Hermione caught a glimpse of a lightning shaped scar.

"Oh my goodness! You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger. And you are..?" she looked expectantly at the boy who was still stuffing his face.

"I-I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Oh, um, nice to meet you," Hermione replied, "oh! Right, um, have either of you seen a toad anywhere? A boy named Neville has lost one."

Both boys shook their heads. Hermione straightened up and turned to leave. "You should get changed into your robes. We should be arriving soon," she continued, "by the way Ron, you've got some dirt on your nose," and walked back up the aisle to find Neville.

The train came to a stop in front of the gates. Draco stepped off of the train, and saw some students heading off to board carriages. He couldn't see what was pulling them, it was rather odd. He started to walk towards the carriages when he heard a loud, raspy voice yell: "firs' years! Firs' year o'er here! Firs' years!"

Draco turned towards the voice, seeing a tall man with a busy beard waving them towards him. Once all the students gathered around him, his booming voice cut through the night air."All righ' then firsties! I'm Hagrid, the gamekeeper around 'ere. Yer bags are already in yer rooms. Now we'll just head down o'er here and get in a boat and we'll head o'er to Hogwarts."

All the students boarded the boats and began the journey across the lake and sailed towards Hogwarts. Hermione thought the sight of Hogwarts looked incredible and she could tell that most of the other students thought the same. She saw the boy, she now knew his name was Draco Malfoy. He didn't seem to be impressed at all with what he saw, in fact he showed no emotion at all.

As the students ascended the stone stairs, Professor Minerva McGonagall stood at the door, observing the first years. When they have all gathered around her, she began to speak. "Welcome to Hogwarts. You will be sorted into your houses right away. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin..."

Minerva continued to explain what happened at Hogwarts each year, but Draco tuned out. He thought about how he really wanted to be sorted into Slytherin. Of course, that was the best house there was! He was snapped out of his daydream when everyone began to move into the Great Hall. Many students gasped when they saw the ghosts floating around, but Draco was unimpressed. He'd heard about the Hogwarts ghosts from his father. He looked over at a stool, where an old and tattered pointy hat sat. He jumped when it began to sing.

_ Oh you may not think me pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be._

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

The hat went silent and fell back onto the stool. If possible, the first years looked even more terrified than they did before they saw the sorting hat. Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a parchment and began to read names off a list.

"Susan Bones."

Susan stepped forward, timidly sitting down on the stool. She placed the hat on her head, and it called out: "Hufflepuff!"

The students at the Hufflepuff table cheered loudly as she sat down at the table. One by one, the students were sorted. He watched the Granger girl get sorted into Gryffindor. He realized that he actually hoped that she would be in Slytherin, but she was a muggleborn, there was no way she would be in Slytherin. He sighed as he was called up. Draco confidently sat down on the stool, and before the hat even touched his head, it yelled: "Slytherin!" His friends cheered as he swaggered towards the Slytherin table.

He watched on as Potter was sorted in to Gryffindor, good riddance. He didn't accept Draco's invitation into his compartment so he could sit with that Weasley. Obviously, Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor as well. He felt a pang of jealousy as they joined Granger at the table. He pinched himself. Why was he so desperate to be her friend? His attention was diverted as Dumbledore began to speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

Draco thought: _My father must be right, he really is mad!_

Meanwhile, Hermione was trying to figure out if the words had some cryptic meaning. She couldn't think of anything, so she began to eat the food that had appeared on the table. The feast was amazing! Roast beef, pork chops, lamb, chicken, potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, gravy, carrots peas and peppermint humbugs, you name it! When everyone had stuffed themselves, dessert appeared. Ice cream, pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs, doughnuts, trifle, jelly, any dessert you could think of!

Once everyone had eaten so much that they couldn't eat another bite, the prefects rounded up all the first years and they filed out. Hermione knew this would be a great year!

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! Tips are welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey guys! We would have updated earlier today but we were both really busy. We hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Hermione hurriedly ran to the front of the group to see all the spectacular artifacts of Hogwarts in person. They had walked through the halls and up the moving staircases and met the many occupants of the various paintings. Hermione stared in awe at everything surrounding her. When they entered the next hallway, a bundle of walking sticks were floating in mid-air ahead of them. Percy, the prefect that was leading them, took a step towards them and the sticks began to throw themselves at him!

"Peeves! Show yourself!" Percy bellowed, "if you don't, I'll go get the Bloody Baron!"

All of a sudden, a little man with dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared. He was floating cross-legged in the air, holding the walking sticks. His eyes lit up as he realized the students in front of him were first years. He swooped down on them, and Hermione screamed. Percy stepped forward and yelled "go away Peeves! The Baron will hear about this!"

Peeves stuck out his tongue and dropped the walking sticks on the students before vanishing. Percy turned and addressed the students.

"That's Peeves. He's the school poltergeist. You've got to watch out for him, he won't even listen to prefects! The Bloody Baron is the only one who can control him. Well then, here we are!"

They had arrived in front of an old portrait of a Fat Lady in a pink dress. Percy told the first years that the password was "Caput Draconis" and the portrait swung open to reveal the warm Gryffindor common room, decorated in red and gold. Hermione was delighted to see welcoming looking armchairs and a blazing fire in the fireplace. The Gryffindor common room was already full of students in higher years. It became even louder as the other students welcomed the first years. Percy directed the girls through one door and the boys through another. Hermione stayed at the party for a while but she lost her partying spirit after experiencing a quite uncomfortable prank that the Weasley twins pulled. The red headed twins thought it would be funny to prank everyone at the party as they had set traps and pranks all around the common room. Hermione notices that the red headed boy on the train named Ron and Harry Potter were already gone, probably in their dorm room already.

After Hermione had left the party, she went up to her dorm and introduced herself to all her roommates. She unpacked some of her things but felt really tired and worn out from all the exciting activities that day. She decided to change and climbed into bed to read some of her book even though she had already read it countless times. The other girls turned off their lights and fell asleep almost right away. Hermione was feeling sleepy so she put her book away and tucked herself into bed. However, as she tried to sleep, she tossed and turned but she could not sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about that boy named Draco. He was sorted into the Slytherin house, which didn't surprise her. He had let his mother insult her, which from what she heard at the Gryffindor table that only a Slytherin would do. She also thought about why she was sorted into the Gryffindor house. She was happy with this but she had thought that she would have been sorted into Ravenclaw. She knew that the Sorting Hat knew your true inner self, so she must be a true Gryffindor. After she has assured herself that there was no mistake, Hermione fell asleep.

Draco shivered as he was led down to the dungeon towards the Slytherin common room. Was it always that cold and damp? Draco hoped not. His own room at home was very warm and he had always felt safe there. His childhood friends, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Theo, stood around him, taking in the common room. It was decorated in banners of silver and green, and many older Slytherins stood around and chatted with each other. As he sat down, many people wanted to talk to him, but he was feeling quite tired that night and dismissed them. He mostly ignored them and chatted with his friends for a bit longer. After a while, they decided to head up to their rooms. Draco wandered up to his dormitory with Crabbe, Goyle Blaise and Theo. They got ready for bed and everyone, except Draco, fell asleep right away. Draco lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the girl in Gryffindor, Hermione. Why did he care so much about her? She was a muggleborn in Gryffindor! With that, Draco rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.

Draco woke up early in the morning and headed down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast and get his time table. Many of the Slytherins were complaining about having to take classes with Gryffindor and how the Gryffindors were such weak willed prats. Draco agreed out loud but in his head he was glad he would still be able to see Granger. He looked over to the Gryffindor table and he saw her nibbling on her breakfast with her head buried in a book. _What a bookworm, _Draco lightheartedly thought. Crabbe and Goyle sat down next to him and began to shove food in their faces. Draco turned away in disgust. Although they were his childhood friends, they could really be pigs at times. He ate some of his food but he mostly just played with it as he was really nervous for classes that day. As all the students gathered in the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood to make an announcement.

"All students will be receiving their timetables shortly. This is just a reminder to all students that the Forest is forbidden to all students, and that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term, and if you are interested to play on your house team, then you should contact Madam Hooch. Also, this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Enjoy your first day of term!"

Everyone clapped, and soon Professor Snape strode over to the Slytherin table and started handing out the timetables for the term. When Draco got his he looked it over and threw it in his bag. He snatched Crabbe's and Goyle's timetables and looked them over and they had all the same classes. He was happy to see that some of his classes were with the Gryffindors so he would have a chance to talk to Granger, and maybe even apologize. He pinched himself. _No! _he thought, _Slytherins don't apologize, especially not Malfoys!_ Draco stood to leave for his first class, and his friends followed.

Hermione was up bright and early that morning and excitedly got dressed. She grabbed her books and headed down to the Great Hall, excited to get her timetable. As Hermione walked down the hall, she stopped and looked at some of the magnificent paintings on the wall. Every once and a while the portraits on the wall would greet her, but most of them just kept on doing what they were doing before. She finally arrived at the Great Hall and was surprised to see that she was one of the first people there. Hermione walked over to the table and sat down and flipped through her book. Soon after, students began to pour into the Hall. Ron and Harry sat down next to her.

"Good morning! Aren't you just so excited? This is going to be great!"

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, but answered.

"Yeah, we're excited, but we're also nervous that we won't be able to find the right classroom. This place is huge!" Ron exclaimed.

They talked for a while but soon the conversation was interrupted by the sound of hundreds of owls swooping down to deliver mail.

After the owls left, a sudden silence fell over the students. Everyone's attention was directed towards Dumbledore as he made his speech. Hermione fidgeted as the speech went on. She really wanted to get to classes! Professor McGonagall finally came around and handed out their timetables. She had the same schedule as Harry and Ron, and they groaned about having classes with Slytherin. She didn't really want to see Malfoy, he looked like he was being mean to his friends as she glanced over at his table. She got up and turned to leave, following Harry and Ron to their first class.

The morning went by quickly. Hermione had enjoyed every class she was in! That afternoon she had a double Potions class with Slytherin, and she groaned out loud. As she entered the classroom she saw Snape at his desk, looking disapprovingly at all the Gryffindors. She sat down at a table at the front of the class with Harry and Ron. Malfoy walked in and sat at the table at the very back, smirking at the small Gryffindors as he made jokes with his friends. Snape cleared his throat and the room fell silent except for the sound of Draco fixing his hair while looking in his mirror. He began to talk to the class. Hermione got out a piece of parchment and started to scribble down notes.

Snape began to ask Harry difficult questions that most people wouldn't even know. She quickly raised her hand, as she had studied her Potions book countless times. Hermione thought Snape seemed like he had something against Harry even though Harry hadn't done anything wrong. Hermione shot her hand up in the air after every question, but Snape ignored her. The class dragged on as Harry failed to answer any of the questions. Hermione stuffed her books back in her bag and quickly walked to the Great Hall for dinner.

Draco walked into Potions with plans to sit near Granger. She was already sitting at the front of the class with Potter and Weasley. He had no clue what she saw in them, other than Potter being a famous prat. He played it cool and took a seat in the back of the classroom with Crabbe and Goyle. The class began, but Draco wasn't paying attention. He checked his hair in his mirror, and to the annoyance of the Gryffindors, he didn't get in trouble.

Later in the class, Snape kept targeting Potter and asked him really advanced about questions that even he did not know the answer to. He was surprised to see that Granger seemed to know every single answer, despite the fact that she was muggleborn. Draco snickered when Potter couldn't answer any of the questions. His ego was still bruised from when he had brushed away his offer to be friends. That was his last chance to be friends with Granger, because there was no way he would ever be friends with Weasley. What an arrogant prat! The class ended and Draco walked out of the class, his thoughts still plagued with thoughts about Hermione.

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	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

**Hey guys! This chapter is a little short. One of our friends wrote this chapter for us! Enjoy :)**

The whole school was whispering his name, it was everywhere, like candies at Halloween. And just like sweets, the large amount made him _sick_. Why did anyone like the foolish boy? It wasn't as if he achieved anything _himself!_ Just luck and love, and it disgusted Draco. He angrily munched through his breakfast.

Draco was excited for tomorrow, really excited. Tomorrow was their first flying lesson, and they were sharing it with the Gryffindors. Potter was going to make a ninny of himself. After all, he might as well been raised as a stupid mudblood. He didn't have any chance of even staying upright! Speaking of mudbloods, he wasn't excited for tomorrow because he would see that Granger girl. Not at all. It wasn't as if she was on his mind, with her stunning intellect and wild hair. No, that was ridiculous. She was a stupid mudblood. He felt contempt coming on even as he thought it.

Yes. The only reason Draco was looking forward to tomorrow was because he could make fun of Potter.

Hermione let out a sigh. Tomorrow was their first flying lesson, and frankly? She was terrified. Sure, she had read every book available to her about flying, but actually flying wasn't the same. She found out the hard way when she tried out for the aubergine throwing team (sorry guys, inside joke! Don't mind that) in gym class back at home. The physics don't work the same way on the field.

And there was one more thing. Her birthday was coming up, and she didn't really have anyone to celebrate with. It's not like it was a really big deal, and her parents sent her letters every day, but it wasn't the same. Mia, her BFF, sent her letters too, encouraging her, but it was so hard to make friends. Whenever she approached some girls, they scorned her, saying, "what about your books? Aren't they your best friends?", and it was discouraging to say the least. So she stopped trying to make friends. Well, Harry and that red-head, well mostly Harry, they didn't seem _bad_ per say, but the rude redhead, Ron? He didn't really like her, and most of the girls were always talking about the handsome male specimens around the school, and that didn't really interest her.

And then there was Draco. He seemed to, to watch her at times. It was odd. Almost as if he was plotting against her. She didn't want that. His personality was awful, but there seemed to be times where he had a certain, well, charm. And she absolutely loved his hair. Draco was odd, but he didn't seem to be a possible friend.

Before her thoughts could get any wilder, an owl swooped down and dropped a letter on Harry's plate. It was from Hagrid, the gamekeeper. Harry read it out loud.

_Dear Harry,_

_ I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig._

_ Hagrid_

Harry grabbed a quill and quickly scribbled their reply on the back of the parchment and sent Hedwig off again. They finished breakfast and headed off to their classes for the day.

They walked down to Hagrid's shack. As they knocked on the door, they heard frantic scrabbling coming from the other side of the door. Hagrid pulled the large black dog away from the door and let them in. They chatted with Hagrid, and he let slip that the vault at Gringotts was emptied before the break in. They tried to get more information, but Hagrid wouldn't tell them any more. It was getting late, so they headed back towards the castle.

"What are you waiting for?" Madam Hooch barked, "grab your broomsticks! Stick your hand over it and say 'up'!"

Hermione tried, but all her broomstick did was roll over pitifully. "No, up!" Hermione muttered, "UP! Oh, this isn't supposed to be how it works! I read all about it!" However, she kept trying, and eventually the broomstick slowly rose like a cat after a long nap.

"This is rather frustrating. I wonder if we'll ever learn something I'm good at, like maths," Hermione quietly said under her breath. She wasn't surprised that she wasn't the only one having trouble. Poor Neville could barely make it move. What was surprising was that Harry got his broom up right away! Hadn't he grown up as a muggle, like her?

"Alright, now, mount your brooms. Come on! Hurry up! NO! No, no, no!" Madam Hooch scolded, "Malfoy! You're doing it all WRONG! If this is how you've been doing this through the years, then there are many bad habits we must fix! This is awful! It's harder to break down a wall and rebuild it that to just build one!"

Draco's smirk was wiped from his face as he took in the news. Granger hid a smile behind her hand. Draco was mortified! HE was the one making mistakes? No! That was supposed to be Potter! He had barely made mistakes all class! And he was attracting all of Hermi- NO, Granger's attention, not that he cared. It was just infuriating that Potter could possibly be better than him.

Draco watched in amusement as Neville tried to fly, but he fell. It was rather hilarious, but he withheld his laughter. When Madam Hooch announced that she would be taking Neville to the hospital wing because he broke his wrist, Draco couldn't hold his laughter any longer. He burst out laughing. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" The rest of the Slytherins chorused in laughter behind him, and Draco looked smug.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Granger said in a disgustingly high voice. Another Slytherin defended him, but he lost interest in their petty conversations to bother Potter.

"Oh, look what the little snotbag left behind," Draco smirked as he held up the Remembrall.

"Give it Malfoy!" cried Potter, but Draco wasn't feeling very nice right now, what better way to show off his flying and irritate Potter? Draco took off on his broom, and Hermione was rather impressed. He might have had a horrid grip, but he was a rather good flyer. Hermione watched Harry take off after him, but she wasn't really attentive. Why should she look for trouble anyway? Harry and Draco could take care of themselves. Hermione was thinking about the rest of her classes that day. Oh, and she had to do extra studies! After all, they didn't teach math and science at Hogwarts, she'd better learn it herself.

Oh no! Madam Hooch was back! She yelled at the boys in the air. Wait, why is she taking Harry into the castle? Hermione was glad that she hadn't gotten involved, but she felt a pang as Malfoy went to his friends and housemates. "I wonder what's wrong with my heart," she muttered," maybe my blood pressure is low?

At dinner, Draco strode over to the Gryffindor table, Crabbe and Goyle at his side. "Eating your last meal, Potter? When are you getting on the train to go back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver on the ground, Malfoy. I guess you really need your little friends with you," Potter replied.

"Oh, I'd take you anytime on my own. Tonight, Trophy Room, Wizard's Duel. Wands only. Bring your second. The little mudblood can come along as well. See you there," Draco drawled and walked off with confidence.

Hermione poked at her food, wondering why her heart was still fluttering.

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	5. Chapter 5

After Hermione had heard that Harry was on the Qudditch team, the gears in her mind started turning. She had thought she had seen something about Harry's father, James, but she could not quite remember, so she decided to look around the castle. She made sure that she was looking out for Peeves, he would hold her up for extended amounts of time. There were a couple close calls but she had found some helpful hidden corridors, and she came upon what she was looking for. As soon as she saw it, she knew immediately that she had seen it before. Hermione grabbed her stuff and ran outside, hoping that she would find Ron and Harry, considering that they spent most of their free time there. She spotted them and sprinted over.

"I have to show you something!" Hermione stated, breathing heavily. She was a little out of shape these days.

"What?" Ron said, his tone clearly showing that he thought it was just going to be a waste of time.

"Just come on!" Hermione said as she grabbed both their arms and dragged them towards the castle. They raced through the halls until they reached the trophy case, where there was a trophy with the best Quidditch players in Gryffindor on it. On one of the golden plates, two small words were engraved into it. Hermione read it out loud, "James Potter, chaser! Harry! Your father was on the team too!"

Harry looked confused as he stared at the trophy, it was quite obvious that he had never seen that before.

Draco could not wait for the night to come! He was going to get Potter in so much trouble for being out of bed tonight! He had challenged Potter to a duel in the trophy room, where he would anonymously tip off Filch, and watch his be expelled!

"I can't wait until Potter gets expelled! That will show him!"

"Don't forget about Granger and that Weasley kid too!" said Pansy.

Draco felt bad about getting Granger into trouble. After all, he just wanted to be her friend. _Maybe I should tell her that_, he thought to himself, but quickly dismissed the possibility. She would just tell Potter that he was planning something, and his offer would do nothing but raise more suspicions. After Draco finished his dinner, he headed to the Slytherin common room, where he sat and waited for the time he knew that the trio of friends would get into trouble.

The four of them, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Harry, all walked up the stairs. Hermione heard Ron whisper, "why did we have to bring these two?"

Harry just glared at Ron in response, and Hermione thought that she might actually be good friends with Harry. Hermione was confused why Neville was with them, he was not the stealthiest person around, but he was with the other two boys when they walked down the stairs to the common room where Hermione was waiting. She thought she could be quite helpful, as she knew her way around the castle.

Hermione lead them up towards the trophy room, and they entered, wands raised. They did not know what kind of spells Draco knew that he could use against them, so they had to prepared. However, no spells were cast! In fact, the room appeared empty.

"Oh no," Hermione gasped, this must be a trap!

"What?" Ron said loudly, as he was clearly confused.

"You're right Hermione, something's wrong. We should maybe go a little further in so no one sees us," said Harry.

"No! Don't you see?" Hermione said in her 'isn't it obvious voice', "it's a trap to get us in trouble, to get you in trouble! Harry, Malfoy set us up! It's a trap! We have to get back to the common room before anyone sees us! We could be expelled!"

"Hermione's right," Ron reluctantly said. Hermione looked startled, as she would never think that Ron would back her up.

They evacuated the room quite quickly but as they got onto the stair cases, they started to move. "What's happening?" questioned Ron

"The stair cases! They move! Don't you remember?"

Ron and Neville gulped, surprising Hermione as she had not heard Neville say one word the entire time.

"We'd better get off the staircase then!" Harry stated. Clearly, he had no idea where he was going, but neither did Hermione, so they just walked off the stairs. As they entered the room and light came on.

"We'd better get out of here! This is the forbidden part of the castle!" Hermione exclaimed.

As they turned around, they noticed Mrs. Norris, so they ran away fast because they knew that Filch was going to be there and any second. As they reached a door, Ron pulled on it.

"Its locked!" he exclaimed.

"Oh move over. _Alohomora!"_Hermione muttered.

They all heard the lock click and Hermione opened the door and they all ran into the room, shutting the door behind them. As they turned around they all screamed and ran out the door almost as quickly as they came in. Filch was gone, so they ran as fast as they could down the hall and back onto the staircase, not slowing down until they reached the Fat Lady. They entered the common room, still huffing and puffing. " What was that thing?" Ron shrieked.

"A three headed dog," Harry said, looking very scared.

"Do you not use your eyes?! It was standing on a trap door! Something's hidden in there," Hermione calmly stated, as if three headed dogs were the most ordinary thing in the world.

"Why on earth were you looking at the ground! I was focused on its heads!" said Ron in disbelief.

Hermione just replied with, "if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you think of a another clever idea to get us killed, or worse expelled!" She strode off and climbed the stairs.

As Hermione headed into her dormitory, she heard Ron say something but could not make it out. As she got into her PJs, she thought about what had just happenned. The dog was standing on a trap door, so there must have been something important inside it!

The next morning, Draco was angry to see that his plan to get them into trouble did not work. The three of them sat at their table talking curiously about something that was unknown to him. Maybe he should go talk to Granger, then they could possibly be friends, and then he could know why they are always so happy and mysterious all the time. Draco felt a pain in his stomach as he knew it would be impossible for him to ever become friends with Hermione even though that is what he wanted most. He set off to his lessons.

Hermione was listening intently, hoping that she could be the first to make her feather levitate, but was distracted easily by what Harry had said about the item. Harry had said that whatever Hagrid had taken out of Gringotts must have been what was under the trap door.

"Keep trying everyone! Concentrate!" squeaked Professor Flitwick.

Hermione looked around. Nobody was successful yet, but beside her she say Ron waving his wand around. "Stop, stop, stop! You're going to take someone's eye out! Besides, you're saying it wrong. It's 'Leviosa', not 'Leviosar'" Hermione said as Ron nearly poked her in the eye. Ron sneered at her and said in a rather rude voice, "why don't you do it then, if you're so smart."

Hermione straighten her robes, took out her wand, and said "Wingardium Leviosa" ,and the feather rose into the air. Everyone was amazed by her skills, which made her feel special and happy because she always wanted to be top of her class.

After class, Hermione was really happy because of her accomplishment. She was going to talk to Harry and Ron about how she agreed with them about the package that Hagrid picked up, but she heard Ron say, "she's a nightmare, honestly!" he continued in a mocking tone," it's 'leviosa' ,not 'leviosar'."

Hermione was really upset, and she ran by and went straight the the girls lavatory and burst into tears.

Later that night, Draco realized that Hermione was not at dinner. He wondered if she was alright, but soon, he was mesmerized by the food in front of him. He was starved! Suddenly, the door crashed open. He turned and saw Professor Quirrel scream, "there's a troll in the dungeon! I just thought you wanted to know." Quirrell fainted in the middle of the room. Draco screamed so loud he could barely hear what Dumbledore said, so he followed everyone out of the great hall. He wondered if Hermione knew about the troll. He saw Potter and Weasley run in the opposite direction everyone else was going, which worried him even more. There was no way they could save Hermione if she needed help! He stealthily left the Great Hall, tailing the two boys.

Hermione stepped out of the stall, wiping her eyes. She turned around to leave the washroom, but there was a giant troll standing in her way. She screamed and ran back into the washroom stall, but it was too late! The troll had already spotted her and smashed his club into the washroom stall. Hermione got knocked over and screamed again as she crawled under the sink.

"Hermione, move!" Harry yelled from the doorway.

Hermione felt relief as she heard Harry's voice, hoping that they could help her get out of this mess. She rolled over as the troll smashed his club down again. She could hear Ron and Harry trying to get the troll's attention away from her. Hermione continued to crawl, until she reached the far corner of the room. She saw Harry run and jump onto the troll's club. The troll looked stupidly down at Harry, then swung it around, trying to get him off. Harry went flying up to the troll's shoulders, but the troll grabbed Harry by the foot and hung him upside down. Hermione looked around, her wand was on the other side of the room. She must have dropped it when she saw the troll. She looked at Ron, who had his wand out but didn't seem to know what to do.

"DO SOMETHING RON! ANYTHING!" Harry and Hermione yelled.

In a loud and clear voice, Ron said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Hermione looked at Harry, and just as the troll was about to swing his club at him, the club was suspended in mid-air. Ron lowered his wand, and the club dropped onto the troll's head. The troll unsteadily wobbled, and began to fall right where Hermione was standing! "HERMIONE! MOVE!" Ron and Harry yelled.

Hermione gasped as she felt a shield charm envelop her body. The troll bounced off the shield and landed with a thud right next to her. She looked at Ron and Harry, but neither of them had their wands out. She was very confused. Who had cast the shield charm? She dusted herself off, thinking that she must have just missed seeing the boys do the spell. Hermione ran over to them, but before she could say anything, she saw the professors looking down on them strictly.

"What are you three doing? You could have been killed!" Professor McGonagall said as she looked down at Harry and Ron. They both stuttered and tried to come up with an answer, but they didn't know what to say.

"It was me, Professor. I've heard about trolls and I've read a lot about them and I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong. If Harry and Ron had not come, I would probably be dead right now." Hermione said, hanging her head.

Harry and Ron looked at her in disbelief. They knew that Hermione would never lie to a professor.

"That was very foolish of you and I expected more from you Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment."

The three of them looked around, very disappointed. Hermione felt really bad and ashamed as she had always wanted the professors to be proud of her.

"And for you two gentlemen, not very many first years can take on a troll and live to tell the tale! Five points will be given to both of you for sheer dumb luck." Professor McGonagall said, and with that, she stalked off with the rest of the teachers.

Hermione smiled, proud that in the end they had gained five points for Gryffindor. They left the bathroom and headed for the common room. "It was great of you to get us out of trouble like that，" Harry said. Hermione looked at Harry and smiled.

"We did save her life," Ron said, but harry shot back, "she might not have needed saving if it wasn't for you."

Ron just looked at Hermione and said "what are friends for?"

Hermione was happy that she finally had made some friends.

Draco was very upset that morning. He had heard about the three of them defeating the troll and now the three of them were celebrities he was even more upset because it was the first Quidditch match of the year, and Potter got to play. Even worse, he did not! He was a better flyer than him, and if it was not for Draco himself, Potter would not even be playing. He looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Hermione was happy and laughing as she talked to Ron and Harry. He sighed. He would never get to become her friend, she already has those two "heroes". Why would she even give him a chance? He would never get to tell her that it was him that cast the shield charm, moments before the troll collapsed. Life just wasn't fair.

Hermione was looking at Harry with a smile on her face, but Harry did not seem to be very happy.

"Come on! You need to eat! You'll need you strength." she said.

"But I'm not hungry," Harry miserably grumbled.

Snape came by and started talking to Harry. "After battling a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy. Oh, don't worry, the Slytherins won't hold back." Snape turned and strode off, trying to conceal his limp.

"That explains the blood on the floor in the third floor corridor!" Harry exclaimed, "last night, I bet he let the troll in as a diversion so he could get past the dog, but I guess he got himself bitten."

"Why on earth would anyone go near that dog?" Hermione said,

"Because the dog is guarding is something! The thing Hagrid took out of the vault! Whatever it is, Snape wants it!"

They heard an owl screech as it landed in front of them, carrying a parcel that looked suspiciously like a broomstick. The three of them unwrapped it. Hermione looked over at Malfoy and saw that he was really upset, probably because Harry got a new broom. "It's a Nimbus 2000! The fastest broom there is!" Ron yelled.

Hermione wasn't very interested by this news, and went back to her meal.

Later that day, Hermione headed up towards the stands where her fellow Gryffindors would be. She stood beside Ron and tried to be interested in all the blabber about Quidditch that was coming out of his mouth.

Draco headed up to the Slytherin stands and was really excited for the game. He hoped that Slytherin would win, and that Potter would lose. Draco saw the gates opening and the two teams flew out onto the pitch and into their positions. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw the quaffle up into the air. Draco jumped when Lee Jordan's voice cut through the air.

"And they're off! The first match of the year has begun! Good luck to both teams. Although, obviously, the Gryffindors are going to win!"

The Slytherins booed. The Gryffindors scored their first goal, and then another. Draco tuned out the annoying commentary and focused on the game.

Hermione was watching Harry most of the game, and she was very upset because he was not paying much attention to finding snitch but was watching the game from high grounds like a spectator. Slytherin got the quaffle and then almost scored a goal but Wood saved it. Slytherin tried to score again, but Wood, once again, blocked the ball. Hermione was cheering really loud but then she saw one of the Slytherin players hit Wood with a bludger.

Draco cheered as Wood fell to the ground. It made things easier to win if there was no keeper. Slytherin scored a goal and Draco laughed at how easy it would be to win considering there was no keeper and there was no way Potter was going to catch the snitch.

Hermione watched as another one of the Gryffindor players went down. The only way there was a chance to win was if Harry caught the snitch. The Slytherins scored another point. The game was tied and Hermione was really hoping that Harry would hurry up. Hermione could tell that Harry had spotted the snitch because he sped off after something that she could not see. A bludger almost hit Harry and he swerved away, but then Harry's broom started going out of control Hermione looked around and saw that Snape was jinxing the broom. "Snape's jinxing the broom!" Hermione said and she hurried off, a plan already forming in her mind. As she got to the teacher's stand, she found Snape's robe and murmured, "_incarnium inflamara._"

A spark flew out of Hermione's wand and set fire to the cape. Hermione heard someone scream, and hurried off as she did not want to be caught. Hermione got back to the stands just in time to see Harry standing on his broom with his hands out reaching for the snitch. She saw him take a step forward and fly off his broom. As he stood up he looked like he was going to be sick. He gagged, straightened up, and held up his hand.

"Harry Potter has caught the golden snitch! Gryffindor wins!"

All of the Gryffindors cheered loudly. The Slytherins were very upset that they had lost the game they were all booing and making disrespectful noises. Draco could not believe that Potter had caught the snitch.

After the game, they walked back to the castle. Hermione and Ron were congratulating Harry, who was beaming with pride and happiness. The boys were talking about some Quidditch stuff that Hermione had no interest in. She looked around, all the Gryffindors were cheering for one of her friends, it was one of the best days she had ever had, she was with her friends and she was happy.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Down by Hagrid's hut, Hermione was having tea with Harry and Ron.

"It was Snape!" insisted Ron, "Hermione and I saw him! He was muttering and staring right at your broomstick! See? Snape must be evil! Remember, he tried to get past that three headed dog on Halloween!"

"How do you know about Fluffy?!" Hagrid said, "he's top secret! He's helping Dumbledore guard the... That's top secret, I can't tell you that."

Hermione, Harry, and Ron continued to argue with Hagrid for the next hour until they got some more information out of him. Something about Nicholas Flamel... they knew they heard the name somewhere before.

"I do feel sorry for all the people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they are not wanted at home," he drawled during Potions class. He focused his gaze on Harry, and Crabbe and Goyle laughed. Ever since Slytherin had lost the match, he'd been even more vicious towards Potter. However, Draco couldn't wait for Christmas! He was heading home, and looking forward to all the presents.

Hermione was at home for Christmas holidays. Her parents had been ecstatic to see her, and she told them all about Hogwarts. She had a reunion with her friend, Mia, and their families were going on a ski trip together.

The next morning, Hermione got up and went shopping with her mother. She headed to Diagon Alley to find presents for Harry, Ron, and Mia. She stopped at Sugarplum's Sweet Shop and bought Harry a box of chocolate frogs, and for Ron and Mia, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans each. Next, she stopped at the Apothecary to buy some more Potions ingredients, she was running low on Murtlap tentacles and pickled slugs. She also made a stop at Scribbulus Writing Instruments and bought some more ink, then they stopped for some tea. The pair headed back to the muggle world.

When Hermione got home, she was surprised to see Hedwig perched on her windowsill. She untied the letter and saw Harry's messy scrawl.

_Dear Hermione,_

_We hope you are having a great break! Hogwarts is great, except Peeves seems to be messing with the Christmas decorations and the paintings. Ron's staying here as his parents are visiting Charlie in Romania. I'm going down to the Great Hall now, happy holidays!_

_Harry and Ron_

She smiled and scribbled a quick reply.

_Dear Harry and Ron,_

_I'm having a great time! I'm going skiing (Ron, it's a muggle thing, Harry can explain it to you) with my family friends soon, so I won't be able to receive messages. Keep a lookout for Snape! He's probably keeping an eye on you, so it might be safer to just stay in the common room. Anyways, have a great holiday! _

_Hermione_

She attached the letter to Hedwig and sent her off. Then, she wrapped Harry, Ron, and Mia's presents. Hermione's mind wandered as she worked on the wrapping. She wondered what Draco was doing for the holidays. Wait, why was she thinking about him? She felt a little guilty as she had turned down his offer to be friends. She shouldn't judge him for his mother's actions, should she? He was quite awful to Harry and Ron, but he didn't seem to really mean it. She pushed the thought to the back of her head as her father called her down for dinner.

Draco awoke to the sight of piles and piles of presents, and he smiled to himself. _Ahh, home sweet home._ He tore into the gifts, and spent the next half hour admiring all his new things. He found his mind wandering as he stroked his brand-new cloak, and he wondered what Granger was doing for the holidays. He wondered if she had known it was he who had saved her from the troll, then maybe she would be his friend. His thoughts were shattered as his parents swept into the room, house elves with breakfast in tow.

"Happy Christmas, Draco! How do you like your presents?" his mother asked.

"Oh, I love all of them! Especially the new hair gel! I was running out. And this new cloak is very nice as well. Thank you so much!" Draco gushed. He dug into his breakfast, thoughts of Hermione buried once again.

Hermione awoke to a white Christmas. She excitedly jumped up and opened her presents from Harry and Ron. They had both gotten her books. She felt as if they didn't know what else to get her, but she was happy nevertheless. Tapping came from the window, and she raised her head to see Hedwig outside. She quickly let Hedwig in and untied the letter on her leg.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Happy Christmas! We hope you liked our presents! I received a strange cloak with my Christmas gifts this morning, it's made of a weird silvery cloth, and it makes me invisible! I don't know who gave it to me, all the note says is 'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.'. Just think! I can get around at night to spy on Snape without worrying about being caught! Well, have a nice Christmas!_

_Harry and Ron_

Hermione's brow furrowed as she read about the mystery person. She grabbed some parchment and her favorite quill and wrote out her reply.

_Harry and Ron,_

_Happy Christmas! Harry, what were you thinking? There could have been a curse or something on that cloak! We have to find out who gave it to you. You shouldn't go sneaking around, even if you do have your cloak! Please be careful._

_Hermione_

She quickly tied the letter to Hedwig and sent her off once again, then headed downstairs to open the presents under their Christmas tree.

Christmas break passed, and the students returned to school. Hermione was still mad at Harry for sneaking around at night, he could have been caught! She was horrified when she heard that Snape was refereeing the next Quidditch match. Harry had no choice but to play, there were no reserve seekers for Gryffindor.

Neville pulled himself into the common room, his legs locked together. Hermione quickly muttered the counter-curse. "What happened?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy, he jumped me outside the library," Neville answered.

Hermione jumped up and stormed out of the common room. She was fed up with that stuck up prat! Panting, she stopped in the middle of the library, trying to find him. She spotted him at a table and stalked over.

"Listen, Malfoy. You can't just walk around thinking you're better than everyone else. I'm sick of how you've been treating my friends. You'd better show a little more respect, or I'll curse you with something worse than a Leg-Locker curse. Understand?"

"Uh..um... yeah, I guess.." for once, Draco was lost for words. As Hermione spun around and turned to leave, his brain kicked back in.

"Wait! Granger! Just liste-" Draco stuttered, but Hermione had already left.

In her rage, Hermione knocked a library book off the shelf. As she picked it up, she looked at the page it had opened to, and two words caught her eye. Tucking the book under her arm, she ran back to the common room.

"The dog must be guarding the Philosopher's Stone! That's what Snape is after! It makes gold and keeps you alive forever!" Hermione concluded. They sat around the fire and came up with a plan.

Draco spat disappointedly as Harry caught the snitch in just a few minutes after the game started. He got up and stormed off, Crabbe and Goyle following behind him.

"HARRY. WHERE WERE YOU? We have been looking everywhere for you!" Hermione yelled. Harry quickly pulled them into an empty classroom. "I heard Snape and Quirrel talking... I think Snape is trying to get Quirrel to help him get the Stone. So it's only safe as long as Quirrel stands up to Snape! He sounded pretty scared, I don't think he's going to hold up much longer." Harry said.

However, Quirrel seemed to be holding up quite well. Weeks had passed, and the Stone was still safe. Hermione had begun to revise for exams, even though they were ten weeks away. The teachers had also begun to pile the work on them. One evening, the trio headed down to Hagrid's hut.

"A dragon?! Hagrid! It's illegal! How are you going to keep it here? You live in a wooden house.." she trailed off as she saw Malfoy's face in the window.

"Malfoy was looking through the window! He saw the dragon egg!" Harry exclaimed, "Ron! Go send Charlie a letter right away! We have to get this dragon out of here!"

A week passed as the trio anxiously waited for Charlie's reply. So far, Draco hadn't told anyone. He had overheard the three friends going over their plan, and he knew they were doing it on Saturday at midnight. He was torn between telling a professor and just leaving it. It was so tempting to get Potter and Weasley in trouble, but that would ruin his chances of ever being Hermione's friend. After hours and hours of debating, he decided to not tell anyone, but to follow them up to the Astronomy tower that night.

"Charlie! Over here!"

Charlie and his friends landed on the Astronomy tower, dragging the large harness behind them. They quickly hitched the dragon's crate into the harness, then shook hands with the group and took off again. The trio sighed in relief, glad they hadn't been seen, but they didn't notice the glimmer of a pair of grey eyes watching them from around the corner. The three friends descended the stairs, Malfoy following behind them.

They had just stepped into the corridor when Filch came up behind them, a devilish grin on his face.

"I can't believe it! It's one in the morning and Mr. Filch says you were up on the Astronomy tower! What has gotten into you three! And Malfoy! What were you doing with these three? I don't recall seeing you ever spending time with them without getting into an argument. Explain yourselves!" Professor McGonagall towered over them.

They were all lost for words. "Well, since nobody wants to tell me what's going on, fifty points from Slytherin, and fifty points from Gryffindor, for each of you three." the Professor said, and sent them out of her office.

"That's a hundred and fifty points! Everyone will hate us! Hey, Malfoy get back here! Why were you following us? MALFOY! Get back here!" Hermione screamed, but he had already vanished around the corner.

The next few weeks were hell. Everyone had turned against them, even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Nobody talked to them, but they all shot them poisonous looks when they passed. For once, they were looking forward to exams, it was something to keep their mind off how Gryffindor had no chance of winning the House Cup anymore.

One morning, as Hermione walked past the library, she heard someone sobbing in an empty classroom. She heard Quirrel's voice, and she jumped out of the way into a dark corner as he walked out. He looked quite shaky, and he was readjusting his turban. Snape must have made him give in! She took off and sprinted back to the common room to tell Harry.

**A/N: Let us know what you think and how we can improve! Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A\N: Sorry for the long wait, we were both away at camps last week! Draco and Hermione are a little OOC, but it's a dramione story, so it's pretty hard to keep them in character. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 7

Draco heard running footsteps as he walked down the hall on his way to see Professor Quirrel. He had a couple questions he wanted to ask, as finals were coming up and his parents expected the best from him. He ducked around the corner and saw Hermione running down the hall. Now was his chance. Hermione must have been too distracted to notice Draco running behind her. She didn't even notice that he was there until he spoke.

"Hey!" Draco paused, "where are you running off to?"

Hermione was startled; why would Draco talk to her? He hated her, didn't he?

"I'm just going off to talk to Harry and Ron," she replied in an airy tone.

"In such a hurry?" Draco curiously asked, "it must be important. Why don't you talk to me about this super important thing? I could be your friend..." Draco added this last part under his breath so Hermione wouldn't hear.

Hermione hid her surprised face. "Why would you want to talk to me? I'm a muggle-born, a disgrace to you pureblood wizards," she said in a mocking tone.

"Why do you think I would think that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not everyone is as smart as you, Hermione."

Hermione was completely baffled. Draco had just complimented her, and had used her first name. She would have loved to stay and investigate, but she was in rush and she needed to go.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'll be off to tell Harry and Ron about..." she cut herself off and turned to leave.

"About what?" Draco asked, "come on Granger! I can't stop you without getting myself into trouble and I would have done that already if I wanted to!"

Hermione was silent, she decided Draco wasn't going to let her go until he knew what was going on. Could he actually be nice and trying to help, or was this just another trap? She looked back over at him and stared into his grey eyes. He seemed to be sincere. She made her decision and she knew that Ron and Harry would be furious with her if they ever found out. Something about him really made her want to befriend him.

"Well, I'm really taking a leap of faith here. I'm actually trusting you on this. If you ever tell anyone, I won't hesitate to jinx you to Timbuktu. Are we clear?"

Draco didn't know where Timbuktu was, but he figured it was pretty far away. He nodded, his gray eyes glimmering.

"Well, Harry, Ron, and I are trying to find out as much as we can about the Philosopher's Stone. We know that three headed dog is guarding it, but we think someone is trying to steal it. We need to find it before they do!" Hermione explained.

"Do you need help?" Draco hesitantly asked.

"Only if you have information. Harry and Ron would kill me if they knew I talked to you, they would probably bring me back to life and kill me again if they knew I had asked you for help! If you do decide to help, speak up! I have to go or they'll get worried and come looking for me." She turned and started walking.

Draco realized she was leave and jogged over to catch up to her. "Wait! I'll help. I know that the Philosopher's Stone can make you immortal. The Dark Lord must be after it, but he's gone, isn't he? Could you imagine if he came back? My father would have told me if he had. Anyways, if you just play that dog some music, it'll go to sleep right away! I read something about them in a book from my library at the Manor."

"Thanks, Mal- um, Draco. I'll see you around. Remember, don't you even dare tell anyone about this!" with that, she briskly walked towards the Gryffindor common room.

As Hermione left, Draco smiled to himself. He had finally talked to one of the smartest, and probably the friendliest girl in his year. The buck teeth and the bushy hair could use some improvement, but that didn't matter to him at that moment.

Hermione thought about what Draco had said about the dog. She didn't know whether to trust him or not. It was their only lead, she may as well try it. She uttered the password and stepped through the portrait hole. Harry and Ron were sitting in the squishy armchairs by the fire.

"Harry, grab your Cloak and that flute Hagrid got you for Christmas! We've got to go, I'll explain on the way there," Hermione ordered. They started for the portrait hole.

"Stop!' Neville yelled, "you guys can't just keep sneaking around and losing us points! If you get caught, we'll never win the House Cup!"

"Sorry Neville, _Petrificus totalus!_ Hermione waved her wand and Neville fell to the ground, arms and legs bound to his sides. They hurried out under the Cloak, into the corridor.

"Mal- Dr- I read in this book at the library that if you play music for that dog, it will fall asleep! So all we have to do is play it some music. I can charm the flute to play itself so we don't have to worry about it waking up. Ready?" she looked expectantly at the two boys. They both nodded, and Hermione cast the spell and pushed the large door open.

Surprisingly, the dog was already asleep. A charmed harp sat in the corner of the room. Hermione charmed the flute anyways, and it began to play.

"Snape must have been here already. We have to watch out for him. Come on, help me lift this paw!" Hermione wheezed under the weight of the huge paw that was resting on the trap door. It creaked loudly as they pried the trap door open. They peered down into the darkness.

"Well, here goes nothing!" Harry said as he jumped down. Ron and Hermione followed. They all landed on a large plant that seemed to be growing all around the entire room, covering the floor.

"What is this?!" Ron asked, panicking as a vine wound itself around his leg. He began to thrash around, trying to get it off, but it only seemed to grip him tighter. Hermione's mind raced.

"It's Devil's Snare! Harry, Ron! Just relax and it'll let you go!" Harry and Hermione relaxed, and the plant let them go. This, however, seemed to make Ron panic even more. He struggled as much as he could. Hermione anxiously muttered to herself.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare, it's deadly fun but will sulk in the sun.. that's it! We need a fire! But... there's no wood!"

"HERMIONE! Are you a wizard or what?! Use your wand!" Ron and Harry yelled.

"Oh, right! _Lumos Solem!_"

A jet of blindingly bright light shot out from her wand and hit the plant above them. It shriveled up and Ron fell through the dried vines.

"Thanks Hermione, I would have died!" Ron breathlessly said.

They continued down the dark chamber. Hermione had tried to use her wand to conjure some light, but it kept going out. BANG! All three students froze.

"Sorry guys, I just hit the door. I couldn't see anything!" Ron sheepishly said.

Annoyed, Hermione entered the next room. She gasped.

"Harry! Look at those things flying around! What are they?" Hermione asked in awe.

"They're keys! One of them must open the next door! Look, there's a broom, I could catch it right away!" Harry excitedly pointed at an old broom in the corner.

"You've got this Harry!" Ron encouragingly said.

"Well, do you guys know which key fits?" Hermione smugly asked.

"Umm... erm.. we don't know," Ron answered dejectedly.

"Well, obviously someone has been here before us, and they must have passed through, so they must have caught the right key! All we have to do is find the key that has been caught already!" Hermione explained.

"Look at that one! It's got a broken wing!" Harry pointed out.

He hopped on the broom, and all the keys started flying around faster than they had before. Harry wildly looked around, spotting the key and pretending he was in a Quidditch match, and that the key was the Snitch. He dived, and caught the key in his hand. All of a sudden, the other keys started attacking them! Hermione grabbed the key and unlocked the door, shoving the two boys through before slamming it behind her.

They all breathed a sigh of relief, only to turn around and find a giant chessboard.

Draco tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn't stop worrying about Hermione. He wished he could have done more! To reassure himself, he decided that is he were to become her friend, he would have to be nicer to Weasley and Potter. His mind snapped back to reality as he thought of all the trouble those two boys caused for Hermione. He really hoped she was alright.

The trio had tried to walk across the board, but the pieces didn't let them pass.

"We have to play, and we have to win!" Ron said, sounding excited and nervous, "you don't think this is like REAL wizard's chess, do you?"

"Let's find out! Ron, what places should we take?"

"Umm, Hermione, you take the rook, Harry, you take the bishop, and I... I'll be a knight," Ron stuttered.

Ron commanded for a pawn to move, testing to see what would happen. The white pawn drew his swords and plunged them into the stone pawn, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. Hermione screamed.

"Well, I guess it is like real wizards chess, let's give this a try," Ron said, mustering up his confidence.

The game went on, and every time a chess piece was shattered, Hermione cringed. She was glad that Ron had the sense to not put any of them into danger. The number of broken pieces grew and grew, when she finally heard Harry yell, "Ron! No! You can't!"

"What? Ron can't what, Harry?" Hermione yelled in a panicked tone.

"He's going to sacrifice himself!"

"If I make this move, we win!" Ron reasoned.

Before either of the other two could do anything, Ron stepped forward.

"Check."

The white queen swung her sword at Ron, knocking him unconscious. Hermione screamed. The remaining two of the trio nearly made a move to check on Ron, but they remembered the game was still going. Harry moved to the position Ron had told him to and said, "checkmate." His voice rang out loud and clear, and after a moment of silence, the king's sword fell from his hands and fell to the ground.

Hermione ran over to Ron. He was still alive, and was starting to regain consciousness.

"You two go on, I'll be fine here. See you in a bit," Ron weakly said.

Hermione and Harry entered the next room, where a giant mountain troll lay, thankfully, already unconscious. They silently walked around it and entered the next chamber.

In the dim light, they could see a table with many bottles on it and a piece of parchment. Hermione walked up to it and grabbed the parchment, reading it aloud.

"_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onwards neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"Brilliant, really," Hermione said, smiling, "this is a logic puzzle! Lots of famous wizards have no logic, they would be stuck here forever!"

"I'm sure you have heaps of logic, Hermione!" Harry excitedly said.

"Of course, just give me a moment!"

She muttered under her breath, rearranging the bottles.

A few moments later, she handed one bottle to Harry. "This will get you where you need to go. Someone has already taken most of it, so there's only enough for you. I'll take this one and go back to find Ron."

"Hermione, you're a better wizard than me! I need you to come with me," Harry said.

"Harry, you're a great wizard. Me? I'm all books and cleverness. You? You're brave, Harry. I know you can do this! I'll see you soon?"

"See you soon."

And with that, they downed their potions, both of them shuddering as the potion went down their throats. Harry walked forwards, and Hermione was transported back to the room with the troll. She hurried back to the giant chessboard. Ron had sat up, looking dazed.

"Is Harry alright?"

"Yeah, I got him through to the next chamber. Here, let me see those cuts."

Hermione healed some of the minor cuts, when she heard someone enter the room. She sprung up, wand at the ready, but relaxed when she saw Dumbledore and many other teachers by his side. She ran over and explained what had happened and where Harry was. Dumbledore nodded and continued into the next chamber. The other teachers took Ron and Hermione back up into the castle, and put them in the hospital wing.

"Here, drink this," Madame Pomfrey shoved a potion into her hand. She downed it, and fell asleep right away.

Draco awoke to the sound of Theo slamming their door open.

"Guys! Potter and his two friends battled the Dark Lord last night! They got beat up so bad, they're still in the hospital wing!"

Draco sprung up from bed and got changed, then ran down to the Great Hall. Sure enough, he couldn't spot the trio at the breakfast table. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself (he had learned that from his father) and snuck into the Hospital Wing.

He spotted Hermione, who looked perfectly fine. She seemed to be sleeping. He breathed a sigh of relief, and ducked out of the Wing, back to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Hermione opened her eyes. Where was she? The memories of the previous night flooded back to her. She sat up, and saw Harry and Ron in the hospital beds next to her. Madame Pomfrey noticed she was awake and hurried over to make sure everything healed okay. She gave Hermione a nod, dismissing her from the Wing. Hermione hopped out of bed and headed up for breakfast.

After she stuffed herself with the array of gourmet breakfast foods, she headed to the library to try and find Draco. It felt weird to be thinking his first name. She entered the library, seeing him alone by a bookshelf.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat loudly. He spotted her, and followed her into the deserted corridor. She told him all about what had happened the night before.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. And... I guess it's good that Potter and Weasley are too," Draco hesitantly said.

"Well, I'm going to check on them now. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see you."

Hermione entered the Hospital Wing.

"Hermione! You're alright!" Ron exclaimed. He already finished his breakfast, and was hungrily eying Harry's.

"Come on, let's go to the Great Hall, I'm sure they have more food! It's almost time for lunch, anyways," Hermione said. They headed out with one last glance at Harry, still fast asleep.

After Ron fully satisfied his appetite, Harry walked into the Great Hall. He grinned at them.

"Harry! How are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"Fine, I guess. Pretty full."

"Hermione?"

"Never better."

And with that, Harry sat down and joined them, chatting lightheartedly.

That night at dinner, Dumbledore stood to make an announcement.

"Due to recent events, exams have been cancelled!"

Everyone cheered, except Hermione. She had been excited for finals, and she had been studying very hard for the last month. Draco noticed, and smiled to himself. She really was a piece of work. He, however, was glad they had been cancelled, for he had not been studying as hard as he should have. He cheered with his friends, and returned to their dinner.

Hermione didn't want to leave Hogwarts. Sure, she would see her parents and her best friend, and she would go camping, but the school had become her second home. She would miss Harry terribly, maybe she would even miss Ron. And then there was Draco. She would miss him a little as well.

Everyone boarded the train. Harry was talking to Hagrid, and Ron already found them a compartment. She dragged her stuff onto the train and sat down with Ron, Harry joining them soon after. She got up and left the compartment, wanting to find Draco to say goodbye. She found him in a compartment with many other Slytherins. She gave him a look, and continued walking down the aisle. Draco followed behind her.

"Thanks again, for all your help," Hermione said, "maybe we can be friends?"

"It's a bit of a stretch, seeing as you're friends with Potter, but I think we can work something out."

The shook hands. "To new beginnings!" Hermione said

"To new beginnings."

**So. This is the last chapter for book one. We will most likely get into the second book sometime in the next two weeks. Stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy holidays! We're hoping to pump out a few more chapters while we're on break. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 8

Hermione worriedly scrawled out yet another letter to Ron to see if he went through with the rescue plan.

_Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,_

_I hope everything went all right and that Harry is OK and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off._

_I've been very busy with school work of course, and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Let's meet in Diagon Alley?_

_Let me know what's happening as soon as you can, love from Hermione._

She secured the letter onto the old, frail owl's leg, and sent it back out the window. She lay down on her bed and picked up her heavy book.

Draco laughed at Blaise's joke. He was spending the summer with Blaise's family at their home in Italy. They had spent most of their summer training with their fathers. On their free days, they wandered around the estate. As summer break was coming to an end, they were going back to London the next week. He needed to go to Diagon Alley to get his new books and a new broomstick. He was sure he would make the Quidditch team, his father was taking care of that by giving the Slytherin team new broomsticks. He was a little disheartened that his father didn't think he would make it on with his talent, but it was reassuring he would have a backup plan.

Throughout the summer, Draco had thought about his new friendship with Hermione. He didn't know what to tell his friends. There was no way he could just tell them he was friends with a muggleborn in Gryffindor... they would never talk to him again. Oh, how he wished she was a Slytherin.

When Draco arrived at Diagon Alley, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Harry! Over here!"

He jealously watched as she embraced him in a hug. He wished that he could be friends with her in public. Instead, his father pushed him forward into Flourish and Bott's to buy his books. He headed up the stairs to the second level of the store, watching Hermione as she entered the store. Her eyes lit up as she saw Gilderoy Lockhart sitting at a table signing books. He rolled his eyes as she swooned. He turned around and continued to take books off the shelf.

Hermione spotted Draco on the second level. She tried to catch his eye, but he turned away when his father approached him. Instead, she looked admiringly at Lockhart. He was such a brave wizard! She had picked up every single book he had written and she excitedly waited in line for her copies to be signed. She stepped forward, but was thrown aside when Lockhart spotted Harry. Stepping back dejectedly, she watched Lockhart put all the attention on Harry. Spinning around, she headed over to the shop owner to pay for her books.

Although Draco was on good terms with Hermione, he was still enemies with Potter and the Weasleys. He sneered at Potter, always at the center of attention, having his picture taken for the Daily Prophet. At least he wouldn't have to deal with that awful Gilderoy Lockhart, what a stuck up oaf.

Before Draco could finish that thought, Lockhart stood and announced that he would be teaching at Hogwarts this year. He groaned. Could that day have gotten any worse? He looked over at Hermione, who was bursting with excitement. Walking over to his father, he stopped to make fun of Potter.

"Famous Harry Potter, can't even go into a bookstore without making the front page of the Prophet," he spat.

"Leave him alone! He didn't want that!" a fierce looking, red headed girl spat back, she must be another Weasley. How many more are there?

"Looks like you've got yourself a girlfriend!" he drawled. He wandered off, his father still toying with Weaslette's second-hand books. Turning into the next aisle of books, he spotted a familiar mane of bushy hair.

"Granger!" he tentatively called out, glancing behind him to make sure nobody had followed him.

"Oh, hey Malfoy. I have a first name, you know," Hermione replied.

"So do I. I think Granger suits you better."

"Well, Draco..."

"Please don't call me that. You sound like my mother. Malfoy is just fine with me."

"Well then, Malfoy, how's your summer been?"

"Not bad, I think Lockhart just ruined the excitement of next school year. I know you're a fan of him, but I bet he isn't that great of a wizard," Draco challenged.

"Haven't you read his books? He's amazing.." she trailed off as she spotted Lucius striding towards them, looking for Draco. "Well, I'd better get going. I'll see you at school," she quickly said, then ran off right as Lucius turned the corner.

"There you are, Draco. Let's go, we need to go find you a good broom," and with that, they strode out of the shop.

Once again, Hermione had gotten up hours before she needed to. She nervously bustled around her room. She couldn't wait to get back to the castle. Sighing contentedly, she lay back down on her bed, waiting until it was time to leave for the train station. She could not even focus on her book she was so excited.

"Goodbye Draco, we'll see you at Christmas. Don't forget to write us lots!" his mother said, kissing his forehead. He turned and boarded the train, setting off down the aisle to find his friends. He passed Hermione and caught her eye, smiling at her, then continued down the aisle.

Hermione sat down in a compartment with Neville and Ginny.

"Where are Ron and Harry? I swear they were right behind us when we got onto the platform. I do hope they're okay," she fretted. Ginny sighed. This was going to be a long train ride.

"I'm just going to go to the washroom," Hermione said as she left the compartment, heading to the end of the train. She was looking into each compartment, observing each group of people to check for Harry or Ron. She walked passed Draco's compartment. He had seen her and said something to his friends and soon caught up to Hermione.

"Hey."

Hermione turned around.

"Sorry about leaving the bookstore so early... my father would have killed me if he saw you, and he would kill you which is probably why you left but I just wanted to apologize..."

"That's ok. It's not your fault your father hates muggleborns. "

"Thanks, um...I should probably go back, they'll be wondering where I am," Draco said as he turned back to the aisle.

The train finally arrived at the castle. Hermione had searched the whole train, yet she found no trace of Harry or Ron. Neville and Ginny scrambled out of the compartment, fed up with Hermione's endless worrying. They boarded the carriages, most students looking confused as they couldn't see what was pulling them. Hermione remembered reading that Thestrals pulled the carriages, and you could only see them if you had seen somebody die. She hoped that she would never have to see what they looked like. They started off towards the magnificent Hogwarts' castle.

"Where have you been?! I searched everywhere for you, I worried for hours! Why aren't you changed?" Hermione fired questions at the two embarrassed boys in the Gryffindor common room. "Tell me what happened right this instant!"

As the boys explained, she got more and more furious at them. Fuming, she stood and stalked up to her dormitory, slamming that door.

The next morning at breakfast, Hermione was much more calm. She smirked at Ron as Errol, the old family owl, swooped down and dropped a large red envelope in front of him. Sitting back, she waited for him to open the Howler. As soon as he opened it, the envelope leapt out of his hands and began to yell at him. Everyone in the Great Hall turned to watch in amusement as Ron's face turned as red as his hair.

When the envelope was finished, it burst into flames.

"Come on Ron, you've got to admit that you deserved that one!" Hermione said.

"Shut up, Hermione," he muttered.

The day progressed with only a few mishaps with the Mandrakes in Herbology. A small Gryffindor had managed to take a picture of Harry and get his autograph, earning sneers from Malfoy.

In Lockhart's new Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he handed out a test. Hermione looked down at it, grinning as she realized they were all questions about Lockhart. She dipped her quill in her ink and began to scrawl down answers. The rest of the class confusedly wrote down random answers.

After they handed the test in, Lockhart uncovered a cage of Cornish pixies. He set them loose, which only caused the pixies to go wild and cause chaos. The bell rang, and all the students rushed out the door. Lockhart nervously left the room, leaving Hermione, Ron, and Harry to catch them and put them back in the cage.

"Well, he's just trying to give us a hands-on experience," Hermione defensively said.

"Hands on?! Hermione, he didn't have any idea what he was doing! I'm starting to think he didn't really do all that stuff he said in his books..." Harry trailed off as he stuffed another pixie into the cage.

The next day, Hermione headed down to the Quidditch pitch to see Harry's practice. When she arrived, the Slytherin team was there too. She spotted Malfoy, concluding that he was their new Seeker. She stared in disbelief as they each pulled out new brooms, Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones.

"Check out our new brooms. Draco's father generously donated them to us," Flint, captain of the Slytherin team boasted.

"At least nobody on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in, they got on the team with pure talent," Hermione retorted as she approached the two rival teams.

Flint looked furious, how could she make such an accusation about Draco? Well, it might be true, but she was a little Gryffindor, there was no way he would let her humiliate their team.

"No one asked for your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," Flint viciously spat.

Hermione's eyes flashed, but before she could say anything, a bang came from Ron's wand. He collapsed, then belched up a giant slug. The Slytherin team laughed, Draco giving Hermione an apologetic look. He wished he could have defended his friend, but he really wanted to be accepted by his teammates. Pretending to laugh along, he mounted his broom and began to do warm up laps around the pitch with his team.

Hermione helped Ron down to Hagrid's shack, fighting tears. When they finally arrived, they entered and settled themselves on the couch, Ron still bringing the slugs up. Hermione finally stopped fighting herself and burst into tears. Harry explained what happened, and Hagrid looked like he was ready to snap Flint's neck. They comforted Hermione. They told her that there was no spell she couldn't do, and how she was better than the whole lot of Slytherins. Feeling a little better, she headed back to the castle with Harry and Ron for dinner.

Hermione's birthday approached. Harry and Ron both bought her presents and celebrated in the common room. She hadn't spoke to Draco in a while, she didn't have a reason to, and she couldn't be caught with him. People would get the wrong idea.

At Halloween, Hermione had been invited to Nearly Headless Nick's death day party. She went with Harry and Ron, and they met a queer ghost named Moaning Myrtle. They learned that she had been killed in the girls bathroom many years ago. She seemed to take everything they said as an insult, and they soon left the party and headed back up to the Great Hall.

Laughing, they turned the corner and froze. A message had been left on the wall.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

They spotted something hanging beneath it, and Hermione went for a closer look. As she splashed through the puddles on the ground, she realized it was Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris. It was just hanging there, immobile.

A group of Slytherins rounded the corner. "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Marcus Flint spat, his cold eyes alive.

**A/N: Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy :)**

CHAPTER 9

Hermione sunk down into the squishy armchair in the Gryffindor common room, worried and embarrassed, and quite scared for what had be written on the wall. Although Filch had been convinced that it was Harry, she knew it couldn't possibly be him! Harry would never do anything like that, and he was with them the whole evening. Also, there was no way he could be the Heir of Slytherin... he had been sorted into Gryffindor! She sighed and closed her eyes, sinking deeper into the chair.

In class the next day, Draco sat beside Blaise, right behind Hermione. He was getting annoyed as he couldn't see the blackboard. Hermione's hair was so bushy and it blocked his view. It didn't help that she kept raising her hand and waving it into the air, blocking the words. Draco's mind drifted off as class progressed. He lazily listened to Hermione asking questions and giving answers. They should just let her teach the class, at least then he would be able to see the board a little better. Draco snapped back to the present as he heard Hermione finish her question.

"The Chamber of Secrets?! Miss Granger, I expected you to know that the Chamber is merely a myth!"

"Please, Professor Binns, could you tell us about it anyway?

"All right, if you insist."

The whole class leaned forward, eager to hear the story of this mysterious Chamber. Draco was listening intently to every word Professor Binns was saying. He went on about the four founders of Hogwarts, and how the leader of the Slytherins, Salzar Slytherin, believed that only those with pure wizarding blood deserved to learn magic. Boy, Draco had heard that way too many times at home. The long, tedious lectures his father would give him were burned into his mind. Now that he was getting older, he was forming his own opinion about wizarding blood. He decided that although he respected his father, he didn't agree with his thoughts. Shaking his head, he focused his attention back on the story.

"Salzar Slytherin was outnumbered on his opinion, and fled the school. It is said that before he did leave, he built a hidden chamber. The Chamber of Secrets is, supposedly, a chamber that contains a monster that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to target Muggleborns, and tries to rid the school of their kind. But, as I said before, it is only a myth, there is nothing to worry about. We have searched the school countless times and there has been no sign of this Chamber anywhere."

Hermione would have loved to believe that it was just a myth, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that something weird was going on. She decided to go to the library later and do some research in the Restricted Section. As class ended, she sprinted to Professor Lockhart's room, quickly gaining a note allowing her access to the Restricted Section.

She quickly grabbed books off the shelves, setting them down at a table, and she began to flip through them. Half an hour later, she triumphantly smiled, her eyes resting on a passage about basilisks. She pored over it, concluding that it had been getting around the school through pipes. Standing up excitedly, she dug a mirror out of her bag, making sure to check the corridors before she entered. She couldn't risk getting killed by the basilisk. Before she left the library, she spotted Draco sitting by himself at a table. She approached him.

"Malfoy! I don't think there's any way this could be true, but I know this is exactly what Harry and Ron will think. Is it possible that you're the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Of course not, Granger. I have no clue how this is even happening, my father never told me anything about this," he answered.

"Okay, you're lucky I trust you, or I'd be using Veritaserum on you. I'm really sorry if Harry or Ron blame anything on you, I'll do my best to convince them that it isn't you." She smiled at him before exiting the library.

"Hermione, have you gone crazy? If the Heir of Slytherin isn't Draco, who else could it possibly be?" Ron ranted, enraged.

"Fine, if you don't believe me then let's brew a Polyjuice potion and you can go find out for yourself," Hermione huffed, her face red.

The two boys confusedly looked at each other.

"Um, Hermione? What exactly is a Polyjuice potion?" Harry tentatively asked.

"It's a potion that allows you to turn into anyone! All you have to do is brew it and add the person's hair and drink it. I got this book from the Restricted Section that tells you exactly how to brew it." Hermione explained, handing the book over.

"Lacewing flies? Boomslang skin? Bicorn horn?! Hermione, where are we going to get all this?" Harry asked.

"Obviously, we need to get into Snape's private stores. I'm sure we'll be able to find all the ingredients there," Hermione impatiently explained.

"It says here that the potion takes a whole month to brew! Do you know how many more people Malfoy could hurt?" Harry angrily burst out.

"Well, we'd better get started. I'll meet you in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom after dinner. Nobody uses her bathroom because she clogs the toilets and the sinks are leaky. I'm going to go get our ingredients now, I'll see you then," Hermione quickly explained as she left the common room.

"Watch where you're.. oh, it's you, Granger. Why are you in such a rush?" Draco curiously inquired.

"Um.. I sort of need to sneak into Snape's private stores for some ingredients, I'm making a Polyjuice potion for... um... extra credit," Hermione stuttered.

"As if you would need extra credit!" Draco joked.

"Yeah, well I like doing it for fun. Are you going to help me?"

"You're lucky I'm risking this for you. My father is going to be very angry if he figures out I've been helping you steal from Snape. We'd better get going!" Draco said.

Hermione grinned and cast a Disillusionment charm on Draco, and pulled on the Invisibility Cloak over herself when his back was turned. They ran down to Snape's office.

The door was locked. Draco removed the charm from himself and knocked on the door. After a few moments, Snape opened the door and stuck his head out.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" Snape asked.

"Oh, Goyle is really sick, he's throwing up everywhere!" Draco smoothly lied, "could you come help us to get him to the hospital wing?"

Snape sneered, and slipped out of his office, Hermione just managing to slide in before the door slammed behind her. She mentally thanked Draco, hoping he could manage with making Goyle sick.

Hermione panted as she reentered the washroom. She saw Moaning Myrtle harassing the two boys, and crying about someone throwing books through her. Hermione quickly set up in one of the stalls and called the boys over. They began to chop and measure ingredients. When the potion looked right for the first stage, they left it bubbling sluggishly.

"Well, it's pretty late. We'd better get back to the common room. Don't forget about your Quidditch match tomorrow, Harry!" Hermione said, and they ran back to the common room.

When Hermione entered her room, the other three girls were sleeping. She quietly pulled on her PJs and fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.

Draco laid in bed, relieved that he pulled off the vomiting charm on Goyle. He was really nervous for his first Quidditch match. His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Crabbe and Goyle's snores. He exasperatedly grabbed his wand and cast a silencing spell. He didn't usually demonstrate his magical ability in public, but if he tried, he could probably have grades just like Hermione's. He liked being good at magic, if he needed to duel with someone, he had the element of surprise as most people didn't know of his abilities, not even his father. He practiced at night in his dorm when he couldn't sleep. Draco turned over, and fell asleep almost right away.

The next morning, Draco awoke to loud cheering coming from the common room. He slithered out of bed and headed down to the Great Hall, grabbing a quick breakfast before going to the change rooms.

As Draco walked out onto the pitch with his team, the green crowd cheered.. Quidditch was one of the rare things that could get him really excited. As he kicked off the ground, he felt a jolt of electricity go through him. He soared above the pitch and watched for the snitch. He couldn't wait to catch the small golden ball and beat Potter and the Gryffindor team.

On the stands, Hermione was reading a Potions book under her cloak when Ron knocked her over, causing her to stumble into Ginny.

"Sorry!" Hermione said as she scrambled back into her seat. She looked up, and noticed something was wrong. One of the Bludgers was following Harry. It kept throwing itself right at him! People were starting to notice and Madam Hooch looked like she was ready to call the game off. Hermione looked at Draco, who was smirking, and noticed the Snitch hovering just below him. Harry noticed it too. He dove for it, forgetting about the cursed Bludger. His fingers just barely closed around the Snitch before Draco noticed what Harry was doing. He reached for it, but it was too late. Harry had caught the Snitch. The Slytherins booed, his team touching down and dejectedly walking off the pitch. Before Harry had a chance to land, the cursed Bludger smashed into his arm, causing a sickening crunch sound. Harry fell off his broom and landed on his back, winded. Draco, still upset that he hadn't caught the Snitch, looked over at Lockhart, who had just pulled his wand out. He watched on, amused, as Lockhart cast a spell that caused Harry's arm to flop around. The oaf had taken all the bones out of Harry's arm! His team watched on, snickering. He spotted Hermione rushing off the stands, and turned away, back towards the change rooms.

Hermione quickly grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him to the hospital wing. She saw Harry drinking from a bottle of Skele-Gro.

"Harry! What happened?" Hermione worriedly asked.

"That cursed Bludger hit me and Lockhart did some sort of spell that removed all my bones! Do you still think he did all those things he said he did?" Harry irritably asked.

"Okay, maybe he exaggerated a little bit. Are you going to be alright now?"

"Yeah, that Skele-Gro was disgusting. Madam Pomfrey says it might hurt a bit so I'm stuck here for tonight."

"Out! No visitors right now, Harry needs to get some sleep. Re-growing bones is nasty business, he needs his rest," Madam Pomfrey said, ushering them out the door.

Hermione exited the girls bathroom after checking on the Polyjuice potion. She wanted to go do some more extra credit work in the library. She spotted Draco sitting at a table in the back corner of the library. Looking around, she made sure they were alone before joining him.

"Sorry about the match. Although, you should really pay more attention to the Snitch rather than watching Harry," Hermione scolded. Draco scowled, burying his head deeper into the book he was holding.

"Fine then, we won't talk about that. What are you reading?" Hermione asked.

"Hogwarts, A History. It's actually pretty good, there's a lot of stuff I didn't know about Hogwarts," Draco drawled. They talked about the book and their classes, just like friends.

After a while, Hermione was bursting to ask him a question. "Malfoy, do you have any idea who the Heir of Slytherin is?" she asked, unable to hold it in any longer.

"No, I don't. I would have told you if I did. I've asked my father about it, he won't say a thing."

"Oh, well thanks anyways. I've got to run, see you around!" Hermione said as she picked up her bag and walked out the library doors.

She saw Ron wandering down the hallway.

"Ron! Wait up!" Hermione yelled. She jogged over to him. "The Polyjuice potion is almost finished. You know, if you just believe me that it's not Malfoy, you two wouldn't have to go risking your necks going into the Slytherin common room. Please just believe me!" Hermione pleaded.

"Sorry Hermione, we just have to make sure. Who knows, he could have used an Imperius spell on you for all we know. Look, don't take that the wrong way. We know you're smart, but it's Malfoy we're talking about. His father is pretty much You Know Who's right hand man! We just need to be sure, alright?" Ron reasoned.

"Okay, but be careful. I'm telling you that I'm sure it's not Malfoy, so if you get caught, I'm not a part of this," Hermione said.

"Fine. Harry and I can manage on our own."

"Okay. Now let's go to dinner."

That night, Hermione debated whether to tell Harry and Ron about Draco. She knew they would be absolutely furious. She really didn't want to lose her two best friends, so she decided to not tell them just yet. Telling them might rip her and Draco apart too, she didn't want to risk losing all her friends! Anyways, she was helping him study now, and she discovered that he was way better at magic than he let on! He could do all kinds of spells, almost as well as she could. She hoped that when Harry and Ron do find out, she wouldn't have to chose between them and Draco. With a sigh, she fell into a fitful sleep.

**Please review!**


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